aeCyberSolutions, the Industrial Cybersecurity division of aeSolutions, enters its eighth year of operation proving that the division offers industrial cybersecurity services that global organizations value by delivering beyond clients expectations and being highly adaptable to change.
“For the most part, 2020 was an extremely challenging year for nearly every company in every sector,” said John Cusimano, VP of aeCyberSolutions. “However, our niche industrial cybersecurity services division demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the pandemic and is emerging stronger, smarter and well-positioned to take advantage of forecasted market resurgence.”
Client retention and attraction
In a year of unprecedented challenges, aeCyberSolutions enjoyed significant repeat business from 69% of its existing clients. Furthermore, the firm added 11 new clients in 2020, representing 31% of the division’s total revenue.
Key appointments
The business also added several key hires during 2020.
- Chad Vicknair, Senior Principal Specialist – A chemical process control and OT cybersecurity veteran with 30+ years’ service in the chemical sector. Chad leads aeCyberSolutions’ services in Louisiana.
- Bret Stone, Principal Specialist – An industrial IT/OT specialist with multiple years of experience in the Bakken oil fields. Bret is one of the divisions’ top virtualization and Windows domain experts.
- Greg Villano, Senior Principal Specialist – An offshore/maritime veteran with 30+ years’ experience in electrical, process control and ICS cybersecurity. Greg leads aeCyberSolutions’ maritime MTSA cybersecurity practice.
Adaptability
Prior to the pandemic, about 50% of aeCyber’s services were performed onsite at clients’ facilities. However, when domestic and international travel became grounded, and facilities began limiting entry to essential personnel only, aeCyberSolutions creatively retooled its services such as assessments, workshops, and training to be delivered remotely. Furthermore, in order to maintain close communication with its clients, aeCyberSolutions launched a private client portal called the Cybersecurity Knowledge Center™ and a series of free webinars offered every two weeks.
New, Innovative Services
Through their strong client relationships and immersion in the ICS cybersecurity market, aeCyberSolutions identified and developed six new ICS cybersecurity services designed to address the challenges faced by their clients:
- aeCyberPHA® Facilitation Suite
- aeCyberBowtie™
- Online, role-based ICS cybersecurity training
- Maritime (MTSA) Cybersecurity Assessments
- Facility Security Officer (FSO) Cybersecurity Training
- Water Sector (AWIA) Cybersecurity Assessments
Cusimano added, “While 2020 was a year to focus on retention and retooling, we anticipate returning to our pre-Covid rates of 40 to 60% annual growth in 2021.”
About aeCyberSolutions™
aeCyberSolutions, the Industrial Cybersecurity division of aeSolutions, exclusively provides industrial cybersecurity services including risk assessments, program development, implementation, support, and training to clients in oil and gas, chemicals, maritime, water, industrial gases, and other process industries. A leader in the intersection of cybersecurity and process safety, aeCyberSolutions helps clients identify and address cybersecurity risks in a manner that is consistent with the engineering methods already in place for process safety risk management. They do so by leveraging existing information and practices while presenting a single, consistent expression of risk to senior management. The aeCyberSolutions team is exclusively staffed with personnel who have strong industrial automation backgrounds and general IT and IT security backgrounds and credentials. This combination of IT and Operational Technology (OT) expertise is essential for working in the field of industrial cybersecurity. aeCyberSolutions is based in Greenville, SC. For more information, visit www.aeCyberSolutions.com or follow @aesolns.
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